After the madness of the central London crowds of thousands and clashes with riot police, a small number of scholars and demonstrators met at the University of East London campus Wednesday afternoon to hold an alternative G20 summit, the dream of G20 meltdown organiser Chris Knight.

The University of East London had closed its campus down and cancelled all lectures for Wednesday and Thursday out of fear that demonstrators would use the university buildings as a base for protest at the ExCel centre Thursday. Despite this, a crowd of 200-300 people gathered from 5pm onward on the university's lawn, sitting in the sun and clearly enjoying the relative calm after the riots in London.

Speakers including comedian Mark Thomas, Dr Camilla Power of the University of East London, Tony Benn, Stop the War coalition organiser Lindsey German and academic Richard Wilson assembled with the crowd.

Chris Knight's late arrival prompted an attempt by the demonstrators to enter the university library, which was locked and manned. However, following an alarm going off when they attempted to pry open the door, the demonstrators decided to forego the violence seen in the City and instead returned to the lawn to listen to speakers give an alternative to the capitalist structure through a loudhailer as planes from City Airport thundered overhead.

Following Tony Benn's arrival from the Stop the War rally at Trafalgar Square, the elderly statesman took to the impromptu stage amid three cheers from the crowd to open the event. He started by telling the crowd why he felt such a gathering was important.

"What university this is that shuts its doors when the world is in crisis. We are at war, the economic system has broken down and they will not let us into their buildings to discuss it, but we will speak about it here."

He added his fears that the current economic doom and spiralling unemployment could lead to the rise of the rightwing, as it had in 1930s Germany.

"This is what the BNP are waiting for. People are entitled to work. There are homeless people on the streets, and yet there are unemployed construction workers. The market has failed. I believe the most revolutionary ideal there is, is that democracy should transfer power to the people, and we are here today so the people in power can hear our voice."

Next to speak was Lindsey German, founder of Stop the War, who told us that this weekend has seen people protest to put their views first.

She told the small crowd: "Change doesn't come from American presidents. It comes from people coming together under a common goal and yet they call us troublemakers. … They, the real troublemakers, are meeting tomorrow at the ExCel Centre."

She ended her speech by asking the crowd: "Do we want jobs or bombs? Do we want the world to be the way the capitalists have run it, or do we want an alternative?"

Next on was Professor Richard Wilkinson, author of the Spirit Level, who introduced his scientific argument for why inequality in society is damaging for all.

He told the appreciative crowd that he could prove a direct link between the bonus system of the bankers and social ills, and ended with a compelling argument that inequality and its increase in status competition leads to a greater pressure to consume.

"When we want more, we spend more, we get into more debt, and it is this cycle of consumerism that is such a threat to the very necessary goal of lowering our carbon emissions."

Following these heavy speakers, comedian Mark Thomas took to the stage, bringing roars of approval from those gathered. As the sun began to lower over the Victoria Dock waters, the speeches continued.

Organiser Chris Knight, still costumed as a dead banker from the rallies at the Bank of England earlier in the day, professed that he felt this summit was already superior to the bankers' summit Thursday because although not many had gathered, those that did did so to discuss an alternative, whereas those meeting tomorrow were not, and "as we've seen today the whole of London has no confidence in them".

It may have been a small gathering that shied away from forcing entrance to the university campus. But though only a few hundred managed to make it out to the Docklands, there was a real desire to discuss a change in the way the world economy and the markets are run.

We can only hope that that same desire for change and a move toward a greater equality will also be present in the ExCel Centre on Thursday, just a few hundreds yards away.